Scots & Doric Workshops

I am passionate about promoting Scotland’s languages in an accessible, inclusive and creative way. Through storytelling, conversation and shared exploration, pupils experience Scots and Doric as living languages — rich in humour, history and everyday expression. Alongside telling traditional and local tales in Doric, I run engaging taster workshops where pupils can explore vocabulary, pronunciation and the rhythms of the language for themselves. Sessions can include Doric rhyme and song creation, as well as developing new local stories rooted in the community and landscape around the school.

With older pupils, we can look more deeply at local heritage through place names and surnames, uncovering the layers of history and meaning carried within familiar words. These workshops not only strengthen language awareness but also open discussions about identity, belonging and cultural continuity. For New Scots pupils — young people whose families have come to the UK from elsewhere — exploring local language, history and stories can be a powerful way of connecting to their new home, understanding the character of the area, and finding their own place within it.

Above all, these sessions build confidence, celebrate identity, and help young people recognise that their voices — and the language they speak — are valuable, expressive and worth sharing.

The New Deer Show – an example of a rhyme written with New Deer School pupils as part of the “Loons An Lassikies – New Rhymes For Auld” project – read all about Annie Shirer, The Kininmonth Lassie and Pauline’s visits here – https://annieshirerrhymes.co.uk/